Becket Land Trust Historic Quarry & Forest

Becket Quarry - known during its operating days as the Chester-Hudson Quarry - played a key role in the early development of the Town of Becket and surrounding area. Granite was mined here and shipped by railroad to nearby Chester and Hudson, NY for construction of monuments and gravestones. The quarry opened in the 1850s (or 1860s). When the quarry was abandoned in the 1940s (or 1960s), much of the equipment and infrastructure was left behind - as if the quarrymen had gone for lunch and never returned. These include a blacksmith shop, standing derrick, experimental air-drill testing tunnel, and trucks (now quite rusted) as well as rock cuts. Mismanagement and lack of funding for necessary improvements apparently led the Hudson-Chester Granite Company to fold. The quarry was acquired by the Becket Land Trust circa 1999 through an extraordinary community fund-raising campaign to save the site from industrial development. The Becket Land Trust's Historic Quarry and Forest is now open to the public for recreational enjoyment year round, dawn to dusk. Source: Becket Land Trust.

Explore This Place

This is such a cool place! There are lots of color-coded, well-marked trails of varying lengths and a beautiful quarry surrounded by rusty remnants of the granite mining operation that took place here. There are also placards near the pieces of equipment that explain what they were used for, so you get a little history lesson thrown in. There is ample parking and a port-a-potty in the parking lot. The main trail leading up to the quarry is quite wide with a gradual ascent. In about a half a mile, you will find the quarry and the old equipment. There is even an old tunnel that the rail cars traveled on. After exploring this area, you can choose from a variety of trails. There are trail maps posted everywhere and the color-coded trails are very well marked. The Vista trail features a beautiful overlook to the west with a stone bench to rest on or have lunch. It's well worth the trip!